Unbeknownst to most, the Eagle's Nest is perched inside of one of downtown's oldest surviving buildings — the former First Church of Christ, Scientist, which cost around $2 million in modern-day dollars, hosted its first service the same month New Mexico became the 47th state, was designed by two of Dallas' most famous turn-of-the-century architects and is just a faded and cracked version of its original self. Even the 2,373-pipe organ's still intact, hovering over the pulpit, disconnected but still very much present.

Here's something else you didn't know: The church has been quietly on the market for the past few months. Katherine Seale, chair of Dallas' Landmark Commission, had no idea it was up for grabs till I told her last week when I found out. Neither did the city's chief historic preservation officer.

But Herschel Weisfeld, the local real estate investor and former Dallas arts commissioner who rescued and rehabbed the church two decades ago, said not to fret. He said Monday that "tearing it down is not an option."

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1/2The Eagle's Nest Cathedral, the former First Church of Christ, Scientist, is on the market.(Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

At least not while he owns it. But it's not a protected landmark. It should be. Weisfeld, who bought the property in 1999 and operated it as a performance and events center named for his parents, got it close to the finish line when he initiated historic designation in 2000, but backed out at the last minute. He said he was warned the city's rules would make rehabbing the building too difficult, so Weisfeld declined the honor but still won a Preservation Dallas award for his efforts.

At the moment, the church technically belongs to W.V. Grant and wife Brenda, who moved from their previous digs on Jim Miller Road in 2012 when they brought the building from Weisfeld, who's toting the note. The Grants said Sunday they put the building on the market for a handful of reasons that, when bundled together, make staying in The Eagle's Nest difficult.

On Sunday, as services began in a main sanctuary hinting at its age but still a bright shade of gold leaf and stained glass, she ticked off separate but deeply connected woes. A dwindling congregation, the homeless using the building as an outdoor toilet, break-ins, broken and boarded-up windows, a leaky roof beneath which 30 buckets catch rainwater from 30 holes. This is the price of caring for an old building — which, incidentally, was modeled on the Christian Scientists' Mother Church in Boston — in the left-alone part of downtown.

The Grants simply cannot afford the cost: Brenda said the pews, which hold 900, were almost full when they came to the building five falls ago. The congregation has fallen to about 50 regular members during Sunday and weeknight services. It's a passionate group, to be sure, a hand-waving, Jesus-praising handful — even before W.V. starts to sing — but also a small one.

"It's beautiful, it's just a little heartbreaking we don't have the funding to fix it up like it needs to be fixed up," Brenda said. "We had all kinds of visions. But the money for the church has dropped drastically."

I asked her how long they can keep this up.

"As long as we can hold on," Brenda said. "We're just going a week at a time."

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Sunday-morning church services were held on Father's Day at The Eagle's Nest Cathedral in downtown Dallas.(Robert Wilonsky / Staff )

So it is time to look for an escape hatch. Brenda said "everything's being refurbished and redone" around the church, from the Butler Brothers makeover next to City Hall to The Cedars across R.L. Thornton, where, just this week, the late Plaza Hotel was officially resurrected as The Lorenzo. Between the what-is, the what's-coming and the what-might-be's such as high-speed rail and a long-discussed deck park atop I-30, the slumbering market stirs, so what better time to ask a high price — the price tag is close to $5 million — and see if anyone bites?

From the Jan. 15, 1912, edition of The Dallas Morning News.

And if they do not, Weisfeld said he has no intention on booting the couple or their congregants. "I pray we can find a mutually beneficial solution," he said. He is not sure what will become of the landmark down the road but vows it is not imperiled.

"I took it on as a project to preserve the building," he said. "It's beautiful, spectacular. The history is significant. The question is, what is its future?"